UTM Parameters: The Names, a Naming Sheet and Launch Examples

Which UTM parameters exist, and what does each one label?

UTM stands for Urchin Tracking Module, after the analytics product that Google Analytics grew out of. Google’s help pages for Analytics list the parameters you can add to a destination address. The five long-standing ones are utm_source, utm_medium, utm_campaign, utm_term and utm_content. The current Google Analytics page also lists newer ones: utm_id, utm_source_platform, utm_creative_format and utm_marketing_tactic. It notes that utm_creative_format is not currently reported. This page was checked against that help page on 13 November 2026; read the Google Analytics help on URL parameters before you rely on a name, since the list can change.

Each parameter needs a value you choose. They can sit in any order, each pair joined to the next by an ampersand, and the whole string begins with a question mark after the page address.

What does a tagged link look like?

Suppose your product’s page is https://example.com/ and you are posting it in a niche community on launch day. The tagged version is https://example.com/?utm_source=community-name&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=launch-nov-2026. The visitor lands on the same page, and your analytics records the three labels with the visit. If your tool shows a report by source, you will see the community appear on its own row.

Make one tagged link for each place you will post. Placing the same link everywhere merges every source in your report into one lump, and you will learn nothing about which effort worked. On the launch board, paste a tagged address into the website field when the field accepts a full address, then click it yourself once and check that the labels show up in your analytics. Not every site keeps the query string, so test before you rely on it.

What naming rules keep your reports clean?

• Use lowercase everywhere. Google’s help says values are case sensitive, so utm_source=google and utm_source=Google count as different sources. Its best-practice section also recommends lowercase as standard.
• Pick one spelling per source and keep it. Google gives the example that SpringSale and Spring_Sale are treated as distinct, and your report will fragment the same way.
• Set source, medium and campaign together. Google advises that if you set one UTM parameter you set all the relevant ones. A link with only a source leaves gaps in the report.
• Use hyphens, not spaces. Spaces turn into odd characters inside a web address.
• Keep a naming sheet. One row per link: where it is placed, the full tagged address and the date. It takes ten minutes and saves you from guessing three weeks later.

The UTM tagging for launches checklist gives a ready sheet and a naming pattern for the common launch placements.

How do you read the results with only a few visits?

Put each source on its own row and add the visits and the signups from that source. Then compute the conversion rate per row, keeping the raw counts beside the percentage. With three visits from one source and none from another, there is nothing to compare, and the honest reading is that you have a sample too small to rank. Wait for more visits, or add a direct question to the signup form: “Where did you hear about this?” The two together are more reliable than either alone.

The launch directory traffic calculator accepts visits and signups per source and compares them, and how to measure a launch shows where the tagged numbers fit in a first-week review. If you plan to launch your product free, tag the website link on the listing before you publish, so the first visit already carries a label.

What mistakes and privacy limits apply to UTM tags?

• Tagging links inside your own site. A tag on a link between your own pages can replace the source recorded for the visit and hide where the person really came from. This is widely repeated advice rather than something Google’s page spells out, so test it in your own reports. Tag links that point at your site from elsewhere.
• Putting personal data in a value. Web addresses are logged, copied and shared. Never place an email address, a name or an account number in a tag.
• Forgetting that tags travel. If a visitor copies the tagged address from their browser and shares it, later visits carry the first source’s label. Treat per-source counts as approximate.
• Assuming every analytics tool reads them. Most do, but check that yours reports the values, and test with one click of your own.
• Tagging with no plan to read. If you will not open the report, skip the work and use a simple referrer list instead.

Pair tags with a plain goal: decide which two or three sources you will compare, and tag only those. For links you place in an email or a post, the medium value does the work. When you want ideas for what people post about, the ideas board is one place to look.